-The
Light of Navigation Series-
GOD AND THE
FUNERAL SONG
As the
woman stood in front of me that day, volunteering to sing for my
son's viewing and funeral, I was again amazed by the love of God for
me and my son. He had sent someone to attend to this detail that most
don't think about during an event like this. I didn't. The woman's
daughter was someone my son cared for deeply and dated for some time.
I had not met this mother until now. She sang professionally for
different events such as this, and her voluntary sacrifice touched me
deeply.
I love
music, and I was given piano lessons for some time as a young child.
I loved my piano. My mother bought me sheet music, and two large
Readers Digest special edition books packed with decades of popular
music. I remember being drawn to one song in particular in these
music collections, and I loved playing it frequently. It was called
“I'll Walk With God” which was sung by Mario Lanza in the movie
“The Student Prince” circa 1950's. This was a minor childhood
memory that I had not shared with Randall in the course of our lives.
I still
remember the illustrated drawing on the page with the music below.
It was of a man in a suit with his coat jacket slung over his
shoulder, walking a sunshine filled path with determination on his
face. This one song kept coming to my mind repeatedly the week
before Randall's passing. I thought to myself, “I must look up the
lyrics, it's been so long since I've heard it”. It was then that I
also realized that this particular song was part of my first
awareness of God as a child. God spoke to my heart in that moment of
reflection, and shared with me that He was using it to draw me to
Himself even at a very young age.
-I'LL WALK
WITH GOD-
His helping hand I'll lean upon.
This is my prayer, my humble plea,
May the Lord be ever with me.
There is no death, tho' eyes grow dim.
There is no fear when I'm near to Him.
I'll lean on Him forever
And He'll forsake me never.
He will not fail me
As long as my faith is strong,
Whatever road I may walk along.
I'll talk with God, He'll understand.
I'll pray to Him, each day to Him
And He'll hear the words that I say.
His hand will guide my throne and rod
And I'll never walk alone
While I walk with God.
As the woman stood before me
with her manila folder filled with sheet music, I asked what type of
songs she sang for events such as this. She flipped her folder open
and immediately pulled out the first sheet of music to show me and
said, “This was Randall's favorite when he went to church with my
daughter and I.” I looked at the sheet music and the song title
read.......”I'll Walk With God.”
Enough said.
